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posted by martyb on Wednesday May 04 2016, @04:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the Antidiarrheal-overdose?-Oh,-crap! dept.

NPR is reporting on the latest drug scare, involving an over-the-counter antidiarrheal drug that is being used for its opioid-like effects by addicts:

Some people addicted to oxycodone and other opioids are now turning to widely available diarrhea medications to manage their withdrawal symptoms or get high. The results can be dangerous to the heart — and sometimes fatal — warn toxicologists in a study [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.03.047] recently published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The researchers describe two case studies where people who were addicted to opioids tried to ease their withdrawal symptoms by taking many times the recommended dose of loperamide, a drug commonly used treat diarrhea. Both patients died.

"Because of its low cost, ease of accessibility and legal status, it's a drug that is very, very ripe for abuse," says lead author William Eggleston, a doctor of pharmacy and fellow in clinical toxicology at the Upstate New York Poison Center, which is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Related:

Kroger Supermarkets to Carry Naloxone Without a Prescription
4/20: Half-Baked Headline


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  • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 04 2016, @05:59PM

    by sjames (2882) on Wednesday May 04 2016, @05:59PM (#341580) Journal

    So in other words, if we don't want loperamide abused, we should treat opiate addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal one. If we do similar with other drugs, perhaps we can start getting cold medicine that actually works again.

    Semi-funny note: I have seen bathtub instructions on the net for turning meth into decongestant. It sorta makes sense, it is easier to get meth after business hours.

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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:26PM

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:26PM (#341600)

    I know from forum discussion elsewhere I'm not the only guy out there who "abuses" energy drinks when I have a cold and can't legally get the good stuff for my nose.

    Yeah yeah I know its bad, but that's mostly chronic issues. As long as my heart isn't palpitating too much or too often and its only one difficult night till I can get to the pharmacy to get real decongestants, its "OK". The lack of sleep due to clogged nose and/or massive energy drink consumption is probably more dangerous. Actually dehydration from all the caffeine pee is a big issue.

    By massive I mean like maybe 4 or 5 per day, not like 10 or 20, that would probably cause a heart attack.

    Hey at least I can breath thru my nose again, and even with that much caffeine I can sleep after 20 or so hours awake, or at least I can.

    When I was much younger and into experimenting with drinking I would get drunk when I had a cold... alcohol kills germs right? Mostly it made me feel better about being sick rather than actually curing anything... I think, anyway.

  • (Score: 2) by devlux on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:29PM

    by devlux (6151) on Wednesday May 04 2016, @06:29PM (#341602)

    Yeah but be careful with those "internet instructions". Side effects tend to include inflammatory reactions on par with getting your skin melted off.
    http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=367_1384564447 [liveleak.com]
    http://boingboing.net/2012/02/27/scientific-paper-of-the-day-h.html [boingboing.net] (link to paper is obvious troll look at the authors, you follow that and you'll be putting large quantities of HCL up your nose. )

    If you need a proper decongestant and antihistamine eat a fresh clove of garlic raw. Just unwrap it and chew until your mouth goes numb.
    After about 5 minutes you'll clear up and the garlic has some natural antibiotic properties that can help with secondary sinus infections. When I feel a cold coming on I'll eat a clove every 4hrs or so and it'll knock it completely out in a day or two.

    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 04 2016, @07:20PM

      by sjames (2882) on Wednesday May 04 2016, @07:20PM (#341641) Journal

      Naturally, it's a parody highlighting the utter failure of the DEA to do anything but inconvenience people with colds and allergies.

      And yes, one must make sure to properly neutralize the HCL from the purification step. More problematic is making sure not to cause an explosion in a makeshift lab from heating the ether or not properly venting the chloroform :-)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2016, @07:18PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 04 2016, @07:18PM (#341639)

    So in other words, if we don't want loperamide abused, we should treat opiate addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal one

    No no no, NO... we cannot do that. We've contracted out the building and running of prisons to private corporations and in those contracts, there are clauses that say "the government *shall* pay at a minimum to $PRIVATE_CORP the rate of an 80% occupation of the facility even if the facility is occupied at a lower rate, it shall pay the exact rate of occupation if the facility is occupied more than 80%". Thus, we need to fill those beds. If we don't it's just throwing away money and someone might bring it up in the next election cycle that $OFFICIAL approved this stupid plan...

    Can't have any of that happening now, can we?